Kurt Kohler
Hauptmann Kurt Kohler was a Heer officer serving in occupied Yugoslavia. He was an Austrian from Vienna. When Kohler was a child he grew up with and was the sweetheart of Anna Kleitz, a Jewish girl. When Kohler, now a Hauptmann in the Heer and in charge of transporting Jews in a river boat to a concentration camp, finds himself transporting Anna to an inevitable death he tries to help her escape. He offers to help her get off the boat by giving her a dingy and telling that there are partisans on the bank that she could go to. But before anything can be done a group of Partisans led by Marko attack the boat, many German soldiers are killed, and it is Anna who helps Kurt to escape. He had been shot and wounded and fell into the river but she throws him a lifebuoy. The partisans free all of the Jews on board, but the reasons they attacked the boat was for weapons, which there are none. Kohler goes to see Generalmajor Steiger and requests to join his Panzer group, which is due to leave the next morning. He tells Steiger that he wants to join the group to make up for his failure of losing the boat. Steiger tells him that his orders are to go to a Polish supply depot, but Kohler begs him, and Steiger relents and decides to let him join Oberst Henke as his aide. Steiger tells Kohler to be grateful because if it was up to Berlin then he would be on the Russian Front. As Kohler is travelling with Oberst Henke and Oberleutnant Schuler the convoy is ambushed by partisans led by Braka and Marko. A fierce firefight ensues with many losses on both sides before the partisans retreat. After the fight Henke asks to see Kohler's gun and tells him he is surprised that he actually used it. At a small Yugoslav village Henke questions the mayor, with the help of a female teacher who speaks German. They tell Henke that they no nothing of the partisans. When Kohler asks about the Jews they tell him that they were here and they tell him which way they went. Henke says that the teacher was a big help to them, then orders his men to hang her. The Germans manage to get ahead of the Jews and lay an ambush for them. As the Jews enter a small village they are surrounded by the Germans. Henke tells Kohler that he should be pleased. Kohler replies that he is delighted but asks why they should be bothered with the Jews instead of the partisans. Henke tells him that there is a German occupied city called Sabac that is expecting trouble and that he can drop off his Jews there for the time being. The partisans attack Sabac the next day, hoping to capture the German supply compound at Zorka factory. They make it through the minefield and destroy a German bunker and machinegun tower, but Henke's panzers are lying in wait and attack them killing many before they rest flee. The next day Henke orders hostages to be taken from Sabac, and sends word to the partisans that they are to surrender or the hostages will be killed. In response to this Marko and Braka attack the small garrison in the town of Krupanj that has being left behind taking 200 Germans hostage, Hauptmann Kohler included. He sends word the the Germans that they want a hostage swap. As Anna is checking the wounded she sees Kohler for the first time since she saved him. She then tells Braka and Marko that they could use Kohler to help with the negotiations because she knows he would do it. Marko thinks she is only trying to save him again, but agrees. Kohler agrees to help, but then he learns that Anna is in love with Marko. On his return to the Germans Kohler tells Henke that he wants to go back with more tanks and finish them for good this time. Henke agrees and orders Schuler to make everything ready. He then has all of the hostages shot. The Germans attack the partisans with planes, and the partisans release the German hostages and tell them to run. Henke has his panzers fire on the running Germans believing them to be partisans from the distance they are. Meanwhile the partisans have made their way up into the mountains. Henke orders ski troops, led by Kohler, into the mountains to drive the partisans down towards the river where he promises he will be waiting with his panzers. As Henke stands in his armoured car surveying the scene, he is shot by a female partisan sniper. Whilst in the mountains Kohler spots Braka walking point alone and shoots him, then lays in wait with his ski troops for the rest of the partisans. He then launches his attack when he spots Marko and his men carrying their wounded. The partisans stop and fight, killing all of the ski troops before Marko shoots and kills Kohler. Awards *Iron Cross 2nd Class *German Sports Badge (Gold) *Wound Badge (Black) Notes *The scene where Kohler shoots Braka is cut from the Yugoslavian version of the film, instead it is replaced by an alternate scene where Braka is shot by Chetniks, after Mila is killed by Ivan, who rejoins the Chetniks after he defects from the Partisans. The Chetniks never appear and are never mentioned in the English feature-length version of the film, although Ivan and Mila appear in the English feature-length version, they are never seen at the climax. Gallery Steiger and Kohler.png|Steiger and Kohler. Kohler and Steiger.png|Kohler and Steiger. Schuler, Henke and Kohler.png|Schuler, Henke and Kohler. Kohler and Hoffman.png|Kohler and Hoffman. Kurt Kohler (2).png Kurt Kohler (3).png Henke and Kohler.png|Henke and Kohler. Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt Kohler, Kurt